


Flightless | Hermitcraft

by oh_heccity



Category: Hermitcraft RPF, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Chatting & Messaging, Developing Friendships, Hurt/Comfort, My First Work in This Fandom, Not Beta Read, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Texting, Winged Charles | Grian
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:33:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27092866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oh_heccity/pseuds/oh_heccity
Summary: Season Six had just started and everything was moving smoothly as they could be with the constant chaos of the Hermits.Only thing different was the fact that someone was laying in the sand and no one knew who it wasorGrian joins Hermitcraft and no one knows what's up with the newbie but they're determined to become friends with him.
Relationships: Charles | Grian & Tango Tek, Oliver Brotherhood & Charles | Grian, Oliver Brotherhood & Charles | Grian & Viktor | Iskall85, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 103
Kudos: 612





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I'm very nervous to post this tbh ,,, so uh, ,, please be nice to me 
> 
> fun fact tho, this work has been in the works for a long time lmao, ive actually done a lot of research about bird wings and how they really work. ill post them in the end notes but nothing that will really spoil it, just the ~ math ~ of it 
> 
> im not as proud of this first chapter (technically the prologue) so hopefully the future actual chapters are better !!

It started out like every other previous worlds that the Hermit's were led to. Everyone was together within their respective groups and all were focused on gathering the basic materials and building enough boats so that they could all find their way to some sort of mainland. 

Then someone had just appeared unconscious on the sand of the starter island without any warning. 

No one, not even Xisuma, was expecting someone new to appear this season so this was a shock to everyone. 

The person looked small, perhaps they were even a child. But their size wasn't the most shocking thing about them, what really surprised the Hermits was the brown wings that looked to be larger than the human themselves. 

As the Hermits panicked over what to do about this mysterious person, said person woke up. 

"Ah! You're awake!" Xisuma said as he noticed the person awake first, they were now sitting up in the sand, looking around confusedly at the surrounding ocean. "Do you know where you are?" 

The person's brows furrowed, squinting as they thought over the question given to them by Xisuma before shaking their head. 

"Well, that certainly makes things harder." Xisuma partially mumbled to himself before sticking out his hand for the person to shake. "I'm Xisuma, but you can just call me X if that's easier for you. What's your name?" 

The person stared at Xisuma's hand for a moment before taking it in their own hand, giving it a hesitant shake. "I'm Grian," 

"Well how did you get here Gree-an?" Cleo accentuated the vowels within Grian's name as she piped up from behind Xisuma. "You don't expect us to believe that you've just fallen from the sky in front of us." 

Grian flinched at how Cleo had pronounced his name and quickly adverted his eyes from the group. "I don't know what happened. I was just about to go somewhere with my friends but I ended up here," Grian eventually trailed off, his eyes going glassy as he looked off into the horizon. 

The Hermits all looked at each other as they had a silent conversation about what to do with Grian. Although they were all silently debating on the matter, Xisuma had the final say with being an admin and he trusted what Grian had to say, he truly looked lost. 

"Well then Grian, looks like you're going to be staying with us for a little while longer." Xisuma smiled from under his mask even if Grian couldn't exactly see the expression. "Welcome to Hermitcraft, I hope you enjoy your stay." 

"Thank you." Grian nodded as he stood up, brushing off any leftover sand on his red sweater. "I suppose you won't tell me what you actually do in Hermitcraft?" 

"Have fun as a chaotic, dysfunctional family!" Joe exclaimed happily from the edge of the tree line where he was gathering enough materials for starter tools and boats to get off the island. 

And just like that, everyone once again split off into their respective friend groups as they scrambled to gather materials and get off the starter island. 

* * *

No one really knew what to make of Grian as they were all building their respective starter bases and beginning to make the blueprints of their forever bases.

Out of all of the chaos and pranks that usually was happening throughout the days, Grian was one of the quietest ones. Besides the unconventional first meeting on the starter island, barely anyone has seen hide nor hair of the newest member. 

Mumbo Jumbo claimed that he had seen Grian build a crude cobblestone platform in the middle of the ocean and another crude half sphere of sand on top of the platform.

But no one could really confirm what Mumbo had saw was true considering every time someone went to the scene, all they saw was an empty ocean. Since then Grian had disappeared under the cold water and not resurfacing again. 

It was actually Scar who has had the most indirect interactions with Grian even if said interactions had happened under the unfortunate circumstances. 

Scar was working on terraforming the inside of his cave that just happened to be underwater. Losing track of time, and of the amount of air he had left in his lungs, Scar had to scramble to resurface for air. But of course, Scar wasn't quick enough. 

_Goodtimewithscar drowned_

After waking up in his bed, Scar had found a singular chest with all his items inside of it and a handwritten sign on top of it.

_Didn't want your items to despawn. -G_

After a few moments of hard thinking, Scar finally came to the conclusion that it had to be Grian who had saved his items considering no one else had their name starting with a G. And it couldn't have been any of his friends, they would've announced their arrival. 

It saddened Scar that Grian didn't stick around after that instance; he would've loved to say hello to a potential friend. 

Despite no one technically seeing or ever interacting with Grian, on their communicators they could all see how often he died. 

But that was to be expected, almost everyone had unfortunately died and then respawned only a couple seconds later as they tried to find better materials and started to build their bases.

Only problem was how often Grian was dying. 

_Grian was slain by Drowned_

No one questioned it then, only giving their condolences and a few laughing at the slight blunder. 

Then it kept happening. 

_Grian drowned_

_Grian was slain by Drowned_

_Grian was impaled by Drowned_

Now more of the Hermits were worried over the newest member. None of them had died that often before. 

_Stressmonster: is everything okay love?_

She never received an answer from Grian.


	2. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grian's point of view from the prologue and he meets someone new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter ! New chapter y'all !!!!! Lets go !!! The first chapter but it's technically the second !! 
> 
> I am by no means burning out of this fic already lol, I am just very nervous to post this (despite receiving such kind comments ! I loved each and every one of them !!! I try my best to reply and if I don't, just know that I love them !!!) And I want to pace myself with posting this story !!
> 
> There are a couple of questions that I want your opinions on, you can find them in the end notes !

Grian woke up confused. He was on a small island that was in the middle of the ocean and surrounded by a group of unidentifiable people all ranging from different sizes and species. 

The weirdest ones that Grian could pinpoint was a half-creeper, half-cyborg and what looked to be a patch work zombie. 

He wished he could say that he was paying attention to what the heavily armoured person was saying but he really wasn't. He was far too focused on where he was and how he got there exactly. 

Racking his brain, Grian tried to retrace his steps. He was with his fellow Evolutionists and friends as they were but a few steps away from the next update. 

Only problem of it all was that instead of being in an evolved world, he was in a new one all by himself. 

Judging by the lack of crafting tables spattered across the island, Grian had originally deducted that he was simply going to be alone. 

That was until he saw a large group of people crowded around him as he laid in the sand. 

Being on his back explained the aching pain in his wings but Grian couldn't remember when he laid down or when he closed his eyes. 

Everything seemed to be moving faster in front of him than they actually were. Everything seemed to be a blur to him as he watched everyone gather wood. 

He was obviously an outsider to them no matter how much the group appeared warm and welcoming in the beginning. 

Grian was last to leave the island, using this time to think. He had overheard the heavily armoured man -whom Grian assumed was Xisuma- explaining to a few of the others of the districts. 

He would've on instinct, gone for the fanasty district as that was the style he was the most comfortable with. But seeing as Grian was somewhere new with new people, why not go for a building style he has never attempted before? 

After giving himself a few more moments to think over his decision, Grian eventually settled to build in the futuristic district. 

* * *

As he rowed across the expansive ocean, Grian struggled to find a good spot to build, all the islands seemed to already be claimed by the others. 

Sighing, Grian set down his oars as he looked wistfully at the limp wings behind him. It would've been easier to get around if his wings would just work. 

Oh how he wished that he could actually fly, but of course, someone had cut his flight feathers rendering him flightless. 

Removing his now useless flight feathers to leave room for new ones to grow was quick and painless. That is, if he had someone help him. Or until his next molt but who knew when that would be. 

Grian sighed once again at his wishful thinking as he looked down into the ocean, admiring the fish as they swam past and marveling at how colourful some of the fish were. 

As he sat there, looking down into the water, he noticed what to be part of a ship sunken to the bottom of the ocean floor. 

Were there people living here before him? Even if there was, were the oceans that dangerous to be on? 

After a few moments of going back and forth with himself over staying here to build or hightail out of the ocean to build on land for the night. 

Eventually, Grian made up his mind to simply build a starting base within the sunken ship. He wasn't one to build a dirt hut for a single night, he was known for going the extra mile. 

Only problem was figuring out how to get a base under there. 

* * *

After countless amount of hours, of sleepless nights, hours of silent frustration, and countless amount of deaths either from a multitude of creatures that vaguely reminded Grian of zombies but were extremely waterlogged or drowning himself; Grian had finished his starter base. 

Well, it could barely be counted as a base seeing as it was really only big enough to fit a single chest, a crafting table, a furnace, and his bed. Just the essentials, nothing fancy. 

He'd probably expand at a later date but right now everything was sore.

At least the view was cool. He couldn't get over how he was actually underwater. Just watching the scenery around him made him want to build in the water despite how hard it was, the end result would be worth it.

The water back in Evo was empty, filled only with a few squid and a sandy bottom. But here? Grian could see schools of different types of fish swimming above head and a type of tall grass that swayed in the ocean's current. Void, he would have to build underwater when he finally got around to his main base, no matter how frustrating it was to actually build in such an odd environment.

With the newness of it all eventually wearing off, Grian stood up from his bed and stretched his wings out. From the lack of light coming from the surface, he assumed that it was at least evening. 

He wished that there was something that he could do. Of course he could work more on his base but he had already done that for days. He wanted to do something fun. 

Exploring was always fun! Hopefully the others wouldn't mind if he popped in just to have a little look around. 

His neighbors were one of the first he explored. Two islands surrounded the ocean he currently resided in. 

On his right, of course there was an island, but what intrigued him the most was the fact that whoever was living there seemed to be building what looked to be a man made mountain. 

On his left the island was much flatter than to his right. The only thing that broke up how flat the island was a singular tree. 

Vaguely, Grian remembers going to the island on his right and it didn't end up well. 

He was simply looking for more materials and simply exploring while he thought everyone else would be busy. But of course, he watched whoever lived there die. 

And he felt guilty. Even if he wasn't the one who technically killed his neighbor, he witnessed it.

So left it was. 

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity of rowing across the ocean, Grian finally made it to the island. 

It was much larger than Grian expected, he had only saw the large tree from his base but now he was actually on the island, he saw that there was a small pen of cows. 

"May I help you?" A voice asked from behind Grian making him jump back from where he was petting the cows. 

"I- I'm sorry," Grian stuttered, turning around quickly and looking wide eyed at the person behind him, not expecting to see someone who towered over him in a fine looking suit. "I didn't- I was- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude, I was just exploring." 

Sensing his panic, the stranger backed up a couple steps and put his hands up in the air. "You're fine, dude! It's just- I've never seen you before." 

"Oh," Grian said, relaxing slightly. "Sorry." 

"Don't be sorry dude! I didn't mean to startle you before. I'm Mumbo Jumbo but my friends just call me Mumbo." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- notes -  
> 1) when clipping a birds flight featherss (also known as primary feathers) be very careful of blood feathers (blood feathers is when the feather is to new after molting). If a blood feather is accidentally cut, you either have to pull the feather out completely or go to the vet because if a blood feather is cut and left unattended to, the bird can die. 
> 
> 2) cutting a non blood feather that is a primary feather/flight feather is not painful in anyway when done correctly ! If you do not feel like you are able to cut your own birds wings, vets are able to do it for you !!
> 
> 3) just as a little memo, I am not an expert in birds ! I have just done the minimal amount of research :^) 
> 
> \- questions -  
> 1) how often would you like me to update this fic ? I don't want updates to be that close together that I lose motivation to write new chapters and eventually burn out and I don't want chapters to be that far apart that I totally forget about this fic. Or do you think once a month around this time is good ! 
> 
> 2) opinions on romantic relationships ? I'm not against shipping as long as the ccs are okay with it and have stated they are (with a source !!) but I'm not positive if this is gonna have a romantic relationship or be purely platonic. I just would like everyone's opinion with this !
> 
> \- little things now -  
> 1) thank you for reading everyone !!! Please consider leaving a comment and a kudos, they motivate me to write more !!
> 
> 2) sorry that these end notes are so long shdjdj I just wanted to make them understandable compared to last chapters lmao !!
> 
> 3) small edit just to say to everyone who celebrates thanksgiving to have fun (but don't forget how thanksgiving came to be), and To everyone else, I hope you're all staying safe ! Go drink some water, eat something, and get a good night's rest ! 💕


	3. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grian (hopefully) makes a new friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter everyone and I'm still going strong !!! 
> 
> Kinda drained from school but hgngn,,, when am I never drained, taking multiple college courses is not very fun when you have no work ethic

"May I ask why you're here?" The stranger in a fine three piece suit asked. 

_Mumbo,_ Grian thought to himself. _His name is Mumbo Jumbo, it'd be rude to continue to refer to him as 'stranger in a three piece suit'._

"Just- I'm just exploring you know?" Grian stuttered out nervously. It wasn't that he was doing anything wrong, he just felt like he needed to be prepared with a valid reason of why he was actually here. "I've spent so much time underwater and I just thought that it would be nice to go out." 

"That's quite alright," Mumbo said as he fixed the sleeves to his suit. "I never did catch your name did I?" Mumbo asked as he stuck out his hand to shake. 

Warely, Grian looked at the outstretched hand before taking in in a featherlight grip and shaking it slightly. "I'm Grian," 

Mumbo gave Grian a wide smile that Grian found himself giving his much weaker one in return. "It's lovely to meet you, Grian. Are you my neighbor or are you from a different district?" 

"Same district if this is still the futuristic area." Grian looked out to the empty horizon, vaguely waving his hand in the general direction of where his base was. "Built my starter base underwater so I'm thinking of building my final base in the middle of the ocean." 

Mumbo hummed as he followed Grian's waving hand. "Quite brave of you for building underwater, I took the easy route of finding an island and making a base out of the only tree here." 

Grian turned to the tall tree that Grian had first saw from the ocean and finally noticed a rope ladder hanging from a branch. 

"Have you checked your communicator recently?" Mumbo asked, looking back at Grian. "A lot of us saw you struggling with the Drowned, we were really worried about you. We wanted to come and help but none of us knew where you were." 

Grian brought his shoulders up to his ears in embarrassment. He hadn't known that the others had somewhat witnessed his struggle. "I ah- I don't believe that I have a communicator? To be honest I don't really know what you're referring to." 

"Do you not have a communicator?" Mumbo gaped at the new found information when Grian shook his head in denial. "Well that does explain a lot, I'll have to ask X if we have any spare." 

"You don't need to!" Grian exclaimed suddenly. "I hate to bother you about this whole ordeal. I don't even understand why I would need a communicator." 

Mumbo furrowed his brow worriedly. "It helps keeps everyone connected considering we're so far apart." 

"Oh," Grian said weakly. "I still hate to bother you about asking for a spare communicator." 

"Nonsense!" Mumbo exclaimed excitedly. "You're a Hermit now which means that you're our friends. I'd hate for you to be caught in a sticky situation with no help." 

Grian looked at Mumbo before quickly shifting his eyes away back at the pen of cows. "If it doesn't bother you." 

Mumbo visibly brightened at Grian's hesitant agreeance to getting a communicator. "I'll get you one as soon as I find the time! Where can I find you when I do?" 

"I-" Grian started to speak before cutting himself off suddenly. "There's a sunken ship somewhere out in the middle of the ocean. There's a small hole at the front of the ship where you can enter." 

"Lovely!" Mumbo said cheerfully. "I should have your communicator by tomorrow hopefully if X isn't too busy." 

Grian nodded as he shifted on his feet. He was proud of himself that he managed to actually leave the shelter of his small sunken ship and managed to hold a friendly conversation with his neighbor but now he was ready to retreat back into the comfort of his base. 

Hopefully Mumbo would understand. 

As if sensing his own discomfort Mumbo spoke up once again. "Well, I hate to keep you for much longer. I'm sure that you have things to do." 

Grian nodded thankfully as he gave his quiet good-byes to Mumbo and the cows. 

"See you later my friend!" Mumbo waved to Grian from the shoreline as he rowed away, setting down his paddles to wave back. 

_My friend,_ Grian mused to himself, haven't heard that in a long while. _Did he truly mean it?_

Shaking himself of those thoughts, Grian instead made himself focus on the more important things. 

He had his break and now he has to get back to work. 

* * *

Grian gripped his pickaxe with an aching hand. He had been working for a couple hours now, expanding his sunken ship base. 

As much as he loved the cozy feel of it simply just being all the basics, he knew that if he was to stay any longer in Hermitcraft, he would have to expand. 

And yet, even after the expansion was done, Grian couldn't find himself to put away his tools and relax. 

His brain was high strung and his legs refused to sit still, he needed something else to do. But what else was there to do? 

He had enough wood and obviously enough stone to last him a long while, possibly even an eternity.

But he was missing one thing and that was a wide variety of ores. Grian had enough coal for any torches and fuel he could need and only a few bits of iron that he was saving to use for extra pickaxes and maybe even a few pieces of armor. 

He absolutely refused to make an iron sword. 

And even if he had the minor protection that iron could give him, Grian felt as if he wasn't safe enough, he would have to find diamonds. 

But who knew how rare those things were? Especially in a world with so many people. Grian could barely recall the last time he had seen one for himself. 

So, despite how tired his muscles felt, Grian went back to mining. 

* * *

After hours of mindless mining, trying a variety of different ways to efficiency mine, and almost giving up a few times. Grian finally found diamonds. 

As well as Mumbo's own mine by complete accident. 

It would be awkward and bad manners if Grian had just closed up the hole he left, leaving Mumbo confused if he ever planned on expanding his mines on why there was another mine right next to his that he didn't make himself. 

Quickly patting down his pockets to see if he had any spare wood to make a sign.

_Accidentally stumbled across your base. Sorry about that. -G_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- notes -  
> 1) communicators are fickle business, it all depends on what update you are of the world/universe (? Idk what to really call it), if you're from an older one, you won't have a communicator or if you're in a more modern one (like yhs for example) you'll have a phone (this will be brought up again in another chapter) 
> 
> \- questions -  
> 1) opinion on swearing ? I know that some of the Hermits don't swear (or at least not Grian sjdndj) but I myself have a bad habit of swearing. All of the chapters that are pre written have no swearing so it's not hard for me to avoid it !! 
> 
> \- other things -  
> 1) thank you for reading !!! Please consider leaving a kudos or a comment, they really motivate me to write more !!
> 
> 2) happy holidays everyone !! Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, and if you don't celebrate anything during this month, I hope you all stay safe and warm !
> 
> \- edit -  
> 1) sorry for the edit everyone !! I've spent the past few days wondering why this chapter wasn't getting as much attention as the previous two but I've finally figured it out ! I just got the date wrong !! I accidentally posted this in the past djdjddj so here you go December folks, no more weird chapters that I posted in current time but past date snsnxdnd


	4. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grian hopefully makes some new friends but nothing seems to work out for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly this might be one of my favourite earlier chapters that I've wrote !!! I just love the length of this chapter (especially compared to the previous chapters), as well this chapter worked together !!!
> 
> I almost low-key forgot to post this today just because I've found no motivation to really to post or do anything ??? Hgn idk but here we are !!!

"Hello Grian!" Mumbo exclaimed as he rowed his own boat towards a large cobblestone platform now in the middle of the ocean. 

"Good morning Mumbo," Grian said politely as he set down a worn down chest and began to dump a random assortment of items into it, not caring for it to be organized. 

"What are you up to today?" The taller asked, sitting down on a wooden chest that Grian previously placed before Mumbo had arrived. "It's not often that I see you above the water." 

Grian looked down at his feet as he picked at the hem of his sleeves. "I finally decided to get around with building my base." 

Mumbo let out a light laugh as he looked out on the cobblestone platform. "Well, you're farther than I am currently, I only have an inkling on what I want to build. I'm excited to see what you have planned." 

"And you? What do you have planned for your base?" Grian asked curiously. 

"Ah-" Mumbo rubbed the back of his neck as he avoided eye contact with Grian. "Some sort of sphere? I want to use it for an automatic sorting contraption. I can't handle having all my materials spread apart my base in random chests." 

Grian looked at his own chests embarrassedly, he tried to keep everything organized and within their own chests but no matter what he did, random items ended up in random chests. 

"Have you been to the shopping district yet?" Mumbo asked after the two of them fell into heavy silence, both of them trying to find some sort of topic they could talk about. "There isn't a lot of stores just yet seeing as everyone is currently focused on themselves but there's a few." 

Grian had been to the shopping district that was resided in the middle of the island only a short boat ride away where Grian himself resided. 

But of course, he's never visited it during the day, far too afraid that he would run into someone there. 

"Ah, not yet." Grian lightly scratched his cheek. "I've been too focused on building and getting enough materials for my base."

"Oh," Grian said suddenly, finally taking note of how geared up Mumbo was. From the few times Grian had actually encountered Mumbo, he was only ever wearing his fancy suit. "Is there a reason for you being suited up?" 

"A few of us Hermits are going End busting today!" Mumbo said excitedly. "We all want Elytra but the only way to get them is through raiding End cities." 

Grian furrowed his brows in confusion as he cocked his head to the side. "Elytra?"

Mumbo's eyes widened with surprise at Grian's question. "You've never heard of Elytra?" 

"Can't say that I ever have," Grian admitted quietly.

Mumbo continued to stare agape at Grian before recovering, clearing his throat as he threw a glance at Grian's own wings. "Well, it matters not! You have your own wings, I bet you'll be saving a lot of diamonds at Tango's rocket shop!"

Grian let out a nervous laugh as Mumbo continued to give his wings praise. "My wings are nothing special. Well, I wish you the best of luck with your 'End busting'."

"Oh, you're not coming with?" Mumbo said sadly, his shoulders slumping. 

"I didn't know that I was invited to come." Grian said quietly as he avoided eye contact with Mumbo. "But I doubt that I'll be much help." 

"You're always invited to come along on any adventures we partake in but I won't push you to come." Mumbo said, standing up from the chest he had been sitting on. "I should be leaving soon, don't want the others to be waiting up on me. I'll promise to bring you back something and your new communicator!" 

Grian nodded as he watched Mumbo hop into his boat and row off towards the main island. 

As he watched Mumbo get smaller and smaller in the horizon, Grian vaguely remembered the first time he went to the End. 

* * *

_Grian was terrified._

_There was such a high chance of dying to the Ender Dragon and never respawning in a comfortable bed back in the village as if nothing happened._

_At this very moment, it was either life or death. And Grian didn't like the idea of the latter._

_Shifting his grip on the sword to be tighter, Grian looked around at his friends who were clustered together, all of them looking grim and pale in the face._

_"You okay G-man?" A man to the right of him asked, his tan face was only a blur to Grian but he was able to recognize the iconic headphones around his neck anywhere._

_Nodding, Grian gave his friend a wane smile before shifting his focus back to the Dragon that was flying around the late obsidian pillers._

_No matter how things turned out for him, Grian would fight to the very end for his friends._

* * *

Breaking out of his thoughts, Grian wrapped his arms around himself in a weak attempt to bring comfort. 

This wasn't the past anymore, all the Hermits would be able to fend for themselves just fine in the End. All of the Hermits were probably seasoned pros at going to the End and returning to the Overworld as if nothing happened. 

_They'll be just fine._ Grian told himself. _They can handle themselves just fine._

Unable to get that certain train of thought to leave his mind no matter how hard he tried to. Originally, he had tried working on his base, planning out a circular shape on top of the platform. 

But that turned out to be a bust. Grian couldn't help but find himself looking out towards Mumbo's base or at the chest that the taller man was sitting on. Logically he knew that he was worrying over practically nothing but the fact that he was staying there was not helping.

He needed a change of scenery. 

Still in a building mood, Grian grabbed whatever supplies he had laying around that wasn't going to be put to use any time soon. Only problem is was the fact that he didn't know what he was going to build. 

He didn't need a third base anytime soon and he (hopefully) had an abundance of sand and gravel which both materials were extremely boring to grind out. So perhaps he could make a small shop, selling odds and ends. 

Digging around through the mess of chests to find the boat that he tucked away aimlessly and any slightly waterlogged wood left that Grian managed to salvage from the sunken ship, he was ready to go. Armed with a spare but equally worn down chest, he was ready to head to the main island.

* * *

Boat hitting the grass of the shopping district, Grian didn't make any move to jump out. 

Although this wasn't the first time Grian had been in the shopping district, this was the first time going when it was light out. He wasn't sure how the others would take to him being here. 

Hopefully more Hermits were out getting Elytra than he thought. 

Finally, finding the courage to step out of the boat, Grian slowly made his way up the slight hill that led into the shopping district. 

The difference was obviously between night and day.

At night a few of the shops were closed off to the public but the bright neon lights of the signs remained on, illuminating the surrounding area. During the day, of course more stores were open and Grian could faintly make out noises of the shops.

"Hey new guy!" A voice behind him chimed cheerfully, breaking Grian out of his thoughts. "Haven't seen you before!" 

Whipping his head around quickly, Grian swore he heard his neck crack slightly. "Uh sorry, I- I can leave if you want me to," 

"What?" The man asked, and now that Grian was actually facing him, he saw a blond with bright red eyes and equally bright wings that reminded Grian of a demon's. "Why would I make you leave?" 

Feeling flushed, Grian quickly adverted eye contact. "Sorry, I just assumed-" 

"Nah it's okay, I shouldn't have scared you like that." The man stuck out his hand, presumably for Grian to shake. "I'm Tango." 

"Grian," he said as he took Tango's hand before quickly drawing back. "You, uh- you wouldn't happen to know any places that are available to build on?"

"Oh! You planning on building a shop?" Tango asked and smiled wide at Grian's nod. "Any place that doesn't already have a chest of materials or at least a sign on it is up for grabs! You're sort of late on grabbing prime real estate but there's a few smaller plots around here." 

Grian nodded dutifully as he looked around. As much as he wanted to keep his hands busy with building, he didn't want to disturb anyone else who planned on building near by. 

"I'm excited to see why you build, man! I'll try to pop by with a friend to see how you're doing!" Tango said excitedly before rushing off, flapping his large wings and flying off into the horizon. 

Distantly, Grian wished he could do the same. 

* * *

He had barely started his building process when he heard the faint sound of a fuse going off and then shortly exploding. 

"Hey Grian! I brought a friend!" Tango touched down onto the earth with a bright smile. 

"What are you building here?" Tango's friend asked, looking around at the few things already constructed. 

Tango quickly elbowed his friends' side before Grian could even open his mouth and reply to what he was building. "Shh! We have to guess what it is, it's all apart of the fun!" 

"Hmm, I think it's a gym then!" Tango's friend said, walking around the small plot of land, examining what Grian and built so far. 

"A gym? Why would we need a gym in Hermitcraft when everyone has muscles like these?" Tango flexed his arm to his friend who only rolled his eyes and pushed Tango slightly. 

"If everyone did have muscles like you, we would need a gym."

Tango let out an offended gasps but a playful smile stayed plastered on his face. "I'll have you know, that I have glorious muscles!" 

Grian watched the interaction between the two with a sad grin. They reminded Grian so much of his own friends. 

He missed them. He missed playing pranks on them, he missed being able to hug them for no reason. He just missed being there. 

Not wanting to cry in front of his audience, Grian dug his blunt fingernails into the palm of his hand as he tried to focus on building. 

"Uh, forgive me for asking." Grian spoke up for the first time since the two had arrived. Distantly he hoped that he didn't sound like he was a second away from bursting into tears. "But why aren't you going to the End with the others?" 

"Don't need Eyltra when you have wings!" Tango said excitedly as he showed off his wings. "You and me are in the same boat, Grian!" 

"I decided to bite the bullet and go with a smaller group earlier." Tango's friend said "Didn't want to be stuck in the End all day going from city to city trying to find elytras."

"Isn't that dangerous though? Going in such a small group?" Grian asked shocked, last time he went to the End he had a very small group and they had barely made it out alive. 

Actually, Grian didn't know if his friends made it out alive, he was split up with them in the portal. What if they thought he was dead?

Tango's friend just waved his concerns off. "This isn't the first time I've gone to the End and I haven't died yet!" 

Grian just hummed in response, still reeling over the fact that someone, who Grian barely knew (and didn't even know his name yet!) managed to explore the End with only a few people. 

"What about you, Grian?" Tango asked him, startling him out of his thoughts. "Why didn't you go to the End with the others?"

"Didn't find out about it until this morning, plus who needs Elytra when you have wings?" Grian said playfully, repeating Tango's words. 

Tango nodded excitedly while his friend only rolled his eyes in good nature but Grian couldn't help but feel horrible for lying to the two. 

The conversation quickly stopped after that, Tango and his friend falling into their own conversation while Grian silently went back to working.

Secretly, Grian liked listening to the two talk, it made him feel less alone. Not that he would actually ever tell them that. 

* * *

The sun was just starting to set when Grian was putting on the final touches on his shop and a third voice popped up from behind him. 

"Hello, Grian, I see that you finally decided to emerge from your cave." The man said and Grian instantly felt his face turn red and shoulders come up to his ears. "And I see that you made some friends." 

"Hi X!" Tango's friend waved cheerfully as the two of them walked closer from the spot on the grass they were sitting on all day. "Grian won't tell us what he's building so we're trying to guess." 

"And what have you guessed so far, Impulse?" Xisuma asked, looking at Grian's work. 

_Impulse,_ Grian thought as he sneaked a look at Tango's friend. _It's nice to be able to put a name to his face._

"Tango thinks it's going to be a gym," Impulse said. "But I think having a gym is stupid, none taken if it actually is a gym Grian." 

Grian just shrugged off the apology, he wasn't offended by any means. In fact, he thought the two bickering on what his building actually was to be quite humorous.

Xisuma only hummed as he examined the shop for himself. "It's a cart isn't it?" 

"Huh?" Grian said dumbly as he stared at Xisuma in shock before actually being able to form a complete sentence. "Oh yeah, it's supposed to be a traveling cart. I'm thinking of selling materials that are a bore to grind out." 

"That's a lovely idea, Grian! I'm sure that everyone is going to appreciate what you do!" Xisuma said and although that Grian couldn't exactly see his face because of his helmet, Grian would like to think that Xisuma said that with a smile. 

"I, uh- I just want to be able to help around here." Grian said lamely, picking at the skin around his nails. 

"I'm sure that this will help a ton of Hermits, Grian." Xisuma said as he clapped his hand to the smaller man's shoulder. "That reminds me, I didn't expect to see you today so I gave Mumbo your communicator so you'll probably want to see him soon." 

"Does that mean you'll finally be able to message us?" Tango asked suddenly. And if Grian was being completely honest, he forgot that the other was there. 

Xisuma hummed in response to Tango's question. "It isn't in the best condition nor is it one of the latest models but it works perfectly fine." 

"That's quite alright, I don't need anything fancy." Grian said, waving his hands in the air. "I'm just glad that I'm actually _allowed_ one!"

"What do you mean 'allowed' to have?" Impulse said, making no attempt to hide the shock in his voice. 

Grian stumbled, his eyes going wide and his skin turning pale. He hadn't meant to say that. "S-Sorry, I have to go now! Thank you for sticking around with me today!" 

Without letting any of them say goodbye, Grian quickly ran away, leaving all his stuff behind in chests. He could get it later when surely no one would be out and about. 

He felt like such a fool. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- notes -  
> 1) I don't think that there's any new notes in this chapter unless anyone has any specific ones in the comments  
> 1a) but there is a couple of easter eggs (or not really easter eggs) of other plot points !!
> 
> \- other things -  
> 1) I hope everyone had a lovely new year !!! Especially after the previous year we just had, too bad it didn't last too long :^(((  
> 2) edit - I had something somewhat personal here lol but i decided to delete it, nothing important. If you saw it no you didn't, smoochies !!!


	5. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grian and Mumbo bond in the safety of Grian's bottled ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter !!!! I'm not very proud of this chapter tbh (´ . .̫ . `)
> 
> When I was originally writing this chapter, I thought it was very sweet just because Grian never used these types of communicators but now looking back at it I'm not the biggest fan of it. I still think it's sweet but I feel like it could've been written better but I have no intention of changing/editing it djdjdj
> 
> But a tiny chapter of fluff before angst (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧ so I guess this couldn't be considered a filler but with a little plot, as a treat

It had been two days since Grian had last been outside, he decided that staying within the safety of his own sunken ship was better than going outside. No matter how much fun he had in the shopping district. 

In hindsight, Grian knew that he was eventually going to slip up. He just didn't know how soon that was going to be. 

Oh Void, he really screwed up now. 

Wallowing in his bed, Grian looked up at the wooden rafters. As much as he would love to remain in his bed, in the comfort of his own base, he knew he had things to do. 

"Hello? Grian are you here?" Mumbo's voice rang out through the small ship, making Grian sit ramrod straight in bed. Yes he knew that Mumbo said that he would be coming over to teach him how to use a communicator but Grian wasn't aware that it was going to be this soon. 

"Coming! Just a second please!" Grian said as he scrambled to look presentable, he didn't want Mumbo to see him when he obviously looked like he hadn't been taking care of himself in the past few days. 

"Hi Mumbo," Grian tried to sound cheerful as he welcomed the taller male into his base. "How did End busting go?" 

"It went swell! Got my Elytra as planned as well as a couple diamonds from a shulker box." Mumbo said as he entered the room, marveling at the space around him. "I brought you something as well." 

Grian just stared at Mumbo with wide eyes. "You didn't have to bring me anything! You're already doing enough for me by showing me how to use a communicator." 

"It's the least I can do, Grian. Think of it as a welcome to the neighborhood gift." Mumbo said, digging through his backpack that was thrown against the floor (Grian couldn't help but notice that Mumbo's backpack seemed to be pristine and new while his own was practically falling apart at the seams) and pulled out a purple matte box. 

"What is it?" Grian asked stupidly, turning the box over his hands. 

"Shulker box," Mumbo explained. "It's like a chest but you're able to transport items within it without the items falling out." 

Grian gaped at the box, amazed on how this actually worked. "I've never heard of this before, I've only used chests before." 

"I only brought one but I'm sure other Hermits will be glad to sell some to you." Mumbo said before clapping his hands together lightly. "Well, are you ready to learn how to work your communicator?" 

Grian nodded, still amazed on the shulker box but the box was replaced by Mumbo placing the communicator in his hands. 

"I'm not sure how much you actually know about using something like this so excuse me if I dumb it down too far." Mumbo said, taking a seat next to Grian on the wooden floor, but thankfully keeping his distance. 

"I don't think I ever used something like this," Grian examined the multitude of buttons on the machine. Distantly he remembers that he did actually have a phone back in highschool but even then, this was nothing like that. "So explain as dumb as possible." 

"Very well then, to turn it on you'll want to hold down the button on the side for a couple of seconds." Mumbo pointed to a red button on the side and Grian dutifully pressed it down. "You don't have much to do to get it up and running besides typing in your name here." 

Grian nodded, brows furrowing as he tried to focus on the small font. "So I just type what I want to say?" 

"Yep!" Mumbo said excitedly. "Not only will you be able to see what others send in the main chat, you'll also be able to message individual people." 

"Okay," Grian said slowly, watching a stream of messages pass over the screen. There seemed to be multiple conversations happening at once despite Mumbo saying there was a more private way to send said messages. 

"Would you like to send a message?" Mumbo asked suddenly, startling Grian.

Grian fumbled with both his words and the communicator. "Are you sure? I hate to interrupt something important." 

"If they're messaging the main chat, I doubt that it's important. If it makes you feel better I can message first before you." 

Grian nodded and watched Mumbo pull his communicator out of his suit pocket with much more fluidity than Grian could ever hope to achieve. 

Shortly after, Grian felt his own communicator buzz in his hands. 

_MumboJumbo: Hermits I give you Grian!_  
_Stressmonster101: Welcome love!!_  
_Grian: hello everyone_  
_Tango: fellow wing buddy!!!! hi !!!_

Just be sending that one message left Grian drained, he doubted that he would actually be doing that often. 

"So how was it?" Mumbo asked, "I know that it can be a lot sometimes but you'll get used to it."

Grian nodded, watching various amounts of messages all giving him a warm welcome.

"Do these break easily?" Grian asked, turning the communicator in his hands, occasionally taking a peek at the screen to watch the messages slowly taper off. 

Back in highschool, when Grian actually had a phone, he remembers constantly dropping it from various heights. While the screen was completely shattered - making it hard to type sometimes (but who would he text? All of his friends were dead) -, it amazed him that the phone itself didn't really technically break. 

"The communicator itself shouldn't really break, think of it like trying to mine obsidian with a wooden pickaxe with mining fatigue," Grian didn't really understand that reference but he nodded anyways. "But some people somehow managed to crack the screen. If that happens you have just hand it over to one of us redstone geeks or X and we'll be able to fix it up quickly!" 

Grian nodded again as he turned his attention back over to the shulker box after the screen of the communicator turned dark. 

"I hope that I didn't wake you up when I came over." Mumbo said, breaking the comfortable silence the two found themselves in.

"What?" Grian looked up to see Mumbo looking at him. 

"Well, your hair is a mess so I just assumed that you woke up." Mumbo waved his hand towards his hair and Grian brought his hands up, attempting to flatten his messy hair. 

"I was in the mines," Grian lied, not wanting to tell Mumbo what he was actually doing before he arrived. Surely Mumbo would be able to see through his lie considering he didn't look like he's been in the mines, but hopefully the taller was nice enough to not call him out on it. 

"Well I shouldn't be keeping you if you need to get back to work." Mumbo stood up and fixed the straps to his Elytra that had become loose. "If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask."

"Ah, please wait!" Grian reached out to grab Mumbo's jacket sleeve. "How can I repay you?" 

"Repay? Grian you don't need to repay me," Mumbo started to say but Grian was already rummaging through his chests looking for anything valuable. 

"I-I don't have much but name your price and I'll pay it." Grian said frantically. " _Please_ Mumbo, I feel horrible that I'm leaving you empty handed after spending your time to teach me something I should already know how to do." 

Mumbo shifted from foot to door, refusing to make eye contact with Grian. "I don't want anything material but if you could lend me some help with my base?" 

Grian visibly relaxed at the prospect of being able to help in some way. "Of course! I may not be the best builder but I'd be happy to help!" 

"I'm glad we got this sorted then, I'll message you when I need help and you message me with help you need." Mumbo said at the cut out door that led into the cold ocean. 

Grian nodded, "Of course, have a safe trip home." 

As soon as Mumbo had thanked him and disappeared into the ocean, Grian slumped down onto the floor with his forehead on his knees. Mumbo had only visited for a half an hour and Grian felt even more drained compared to how he felt after sending that singular message. 

How was he to get through the day with actually talking to more than one person? Especially when he felt like this after one person visiting. 

Sighing, Grian stuffed the communicator in his pocket. 

That was enough interaction with people for a long while. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- notes -  
> 1) while not talked about a lot, instead of having a quite unquote inventory, I decided to give the characters backpacks/some sort of bag !!  
> 1a) these bags are personalized to the person (ie, Grian's bag being worn down)  
> 2) i thought the little scene with schulker boxes was cute just because Grian (in this storyline of mine), Grian has never been to an end city and for plot which will be revealed later, doesn't like thinking about the end ;^)  
> 3) I'm also not really happy with the ending of this,,, aka the part of Grian wanting to pay mumbo back, I just feel like it's yukcy but me editing ????? Ewie
> 
> \- other things -  
> 1) I hope you all had a lovely Valentine's day !!! Just remember that Valentine's isn't only romantic love !!!

**Author's Note:**

> here are a few of my notes so enjoy, ill post more as this fic moves on !!  
> \- Grians wings are an American sparrow (bird life expectancy 4-5 years)  
> \- Grian is 26   
>  \- British life expectancy (roughly) about 79 years old  
> \- 79/5 = 15.8   
> \- 26/15.8 = 1.65  
>  \- grians wings are about 1.65 years old in HC6  
>  \- grian is still 26 but his wings develop slower   
>  \- grians wings are about 1.01 years old in YHS (making him around   
>  16)   
>  \- 79/10 = 7.9   
>  \- 10 is roughly when puberty starts in boys   
>  \- 1.01/7.9 = 8   
>  \- Grian would be around eight when his wings came in   
> \- I am very bad at math and idk what I'm really doing with these numbers   
>  so,,,, take them as you will
> 
> just a little btw, this was written and posted with my phone so it is very hard to make the tags ~ personalized ~ so if i missed some tags or you think of one i should add, just leave them in the comments !!!
> 
> please consider leaving a kudos and a comment, they really motivate me to write more !!!


End file.
